ArmInfo.Under the pressure of the citizens, the municipality removed from its agenda the project
of increasing the public transport fares. Former Mayor of Yerevan Hayk Marutyan stated in a video message.
"This proves that they (the capital's authorities - ed. note) do not
know how to govern, do not try to put themselves in people's
situation, do not know anything, do not make calculations, and
decisions are made out of nowhere, without discussion or assessment
of the consequences," he said. Referring to statements by
municipality representatives that new transport costs more, Marutyan
noted that in Western countries transport is also expensive, but it
is many times better, the salaries of drivers are higher, and the
fare is very low. "How is this done? This is called a subsidy. If you
don't know what this means, then go study it. The city should
subsidize from its budget; if the community does not have enough
funds, then let the state subsidize," he said, addressing the current
metropolitan authorities. The former mayor also questioned the
statement that the project was withdrawn for revision after
discussions at the mayor's office.
If the community doesn't have enough funds, then let the state
subsidize it," he said, addressing the current metropolitan
authorities. The former mayor also questioned the statement that the
project was withdrawn for revision after discussions at the mayor's
office.
Marutyan considered the unity of citizens to be the key to success in
this matter . "This means that we must continue to protect our rights
and must be united in the struggle," he concluded.
In turn, the leader of the "Mother Armenia" movement Andranik
Tevanyan noted that his team will be consistent in this matter. "We
have our own proposals and model regarding urban transport. We will
present this model to the public and prove that it is possible to
have decent passenger transport, a reformed transport system and low
fares. Urban transport is a social project and should not be
considered as a field for extorting money from citizens," he said.
At the same time, the oppositionist emphasized that through joint
efforts it is possible to achieve anything, including a complete
change of power, which is the main condition for ensuring security,
peace and a prosperous life.
Today, Yerevan Municipality issued a message stating that the project
to introduce a unified ticketing system in Yerevan was removed from
the agenda of the upcoming meeting of the Council of Elders.
Commenting on this decision, Yerevan Vice-Mayor Suren Grigoryan noted
that the draft decision aimed at introducing a unified ticket system
has become the subject of wide discussion.
It should be noted that the authorities of the capital, "digesting"
the more than 10-fold increase in the cost of parking in Yerevan
(from 12 thousand to 160 thousand drams), decided to increase the
price of public transport in the city.
Yerevan Deputy Mayor Suren Grigoryan said during a recent meeting
with journalists that there will be different tariff packages for
public transport, so it was difficult to specify the exact amount of
price increase. At the same time, he said that when calculating for
60 trips per month (we are talking about 30 calendar days), it will
be necessary to pay 11,000 drams for the ticket in cash, and 10,800
drams when paying through the Telcell system. Similarly, quarterly
and annual tickets will cost 25,000 AMD (24,800 AMD through Telcell)
and 110,000 AMD (108,000 AMD through Telcell), respectively.
"Accordingly, the cost of transport in one direction will be 180
drams instead of the current 100," he said. as reported by the local
media, the fare of transport travel will range from 300 to 500 drams
per trip. Let us note that this is an unaffordable price for
citizens, many of whose monthly income is less than $200.
